For some it was serendipity — users who were in the right place in the right time and live-tweeted a significant moment. For others, it was a lot of hard work — users who used their talent or sense of humour to create a following of well over 1 million users. We’ve put together a short list of five Twitter users who have made it big. Who knows, you might be next!

The most recent inductee to the Twitter Hall of Fame, Kyle Ayers shot from just over 3,800 followers to over 30,000 in the space of five days. How did he do it? Ayers just happened to be sitting on a rooftop where an unfortunate Brooklyn couple argued their way to a break-up. So he did what any self-respecting comedian does — he live-tweeted the event. The tweets got picked up by Buzzfeed and beyond, catapulting Ayers into Internet fame. Surprisingly, he’s not the first comedian to do just that. Andy Boyle live-tweeted a restaurant breakup, and while it earned him some recognition, his following didn’t grow nearly half as much as Ayers did. Both experiments in live-tweeting weren’t without their critics, with some questioning the ethics of live-tweeting a breakup.

Live-tweeting a breakup isn’t the only way to get Twitter famous. Sohaib Athar, an IT consultant from Pakistan, found himself an unlikely celebrity after he unwittingly live-tweeted the raid in which Osama Bin Laden was killed in 2011. Athar’s tweets chronicled the raid, what people thought it might be, and what he was hearing from others in the area. While his Twitter following shot up to well over 60,000 followers, it’s been steadily on the decline, proving that while it’s easy to get famous fast on Twitter, it’s harder to stay famous.

Report from a sweeper: A family also died in the crash, and one of the helicopter riders got away and is now being searched for.

Comedians seem to have the market cornered on getting famous on Twitter. If there’s one comedian that is the epitome of that it’s Jason Sweeney. The Canadian comedian has made a name for himself on Twitter and on Tumblr, with his blog, I am Your Canadian Boyfriend. His sense of humour, and getting in on Twitter early in the game, has earned him the title King of Twitter.

I don’t care about the IPO, guys. Twitter already made me rich… in *friendship*. [Smiles widely. Then wider. Even wider. Head falls off.]

Justin Halpern’s own twitter account might not be as well-known as another Twitter account he runs: Sh*t my dad says. The comedic account has accrued a whopping 3 million followers and has even gone on to inspire its very own TV show, starring none other than William Shatner. The TV show may have only lasted one season on CBS, but it’s a hell of a lot more than most us other Twitter users can show for. And not only has the Twitter account led to a TV show, it’s also led to a book deal or two.

“No. Aliens exist, I just don’t think they came millions of light years just to see earth. Be like driving 1000 miles to go to an Arby’s”

Who says you have to be a person to get famous on Twitter? Sockington the cat has over 1.3 million followers to prove it. The little grey Massachusetts cat, who’s been on Twitter since 2007, has ended up on Twitter’s suggested users list. Sockington is proof that just a little bit of creativity can go a long way on the path to Twitter fame. And there’s apparently a book in Sockington’s future as well. Sockington has also made it onto our list of people using Twitter in ways you can’t imagineThese People Use Twitter In Ways You Can't ImagineThese People Use Twitter In Ways You Can't ImagineWhere you and I might see a box for 140 characters, these people see a blank canvas that they can turn into anything they want. Who would have thought Twitter could be used like this?Read More.

@WaterstonesOxfordSt may only have about 56k followers but they really are worthy of making Twitter brighten my day. from daily tales of how books are trying to take over the world to useful instructions on what to buy your books for xmas.... it's all about books.

Latest example - @WstonesOxfordSt 26 Nov
BOOK FACT: One of Jay-Z's 99 problems was that feeling of finishing a good book and not being sure what to read next.

or this...

@WstonesOxfordSt 20 Nov
Remember, behind every zany conversation between two corporate twitter feeds are two lonely social media managers looking for a hug.

Nancy is a writer and editor living in Washington DC. She was previously the Middle East editor at The Next Web and currently works at a DC-based think tank on communications and social media outreach.